Missouri State Bird

Native Eastern Bluebird

(Sialia sialis)

Adopted on March 30, 1927.

On March 30, 1927, the native bluebird, Sialia sialis, became the official state bird of Missouri. The bluebird, considered a symbol of happiness, is usually 6 1/2 to 7 inches long. While its upper parts are covered with light blue plumage, its breast is cinnamon red, turning rust-colored in the fall. The bluebird is common in Missouri from early spring until late November.

Description of the Missouri State Bird

Eastern bluebirds are small birds with short, slender beaks and short legs. They are brightly colored, with a blue upper body, red breast, and white abdomen. Males have wing and tail feathers that are blue with black or gray shafts and tips. Their heads are a lighter shade of blue, which fades into a red throat and breast area. The breast and belly are white with light blue tips on some of the longer feathers. Females also exhibit this pattern of coloration, although they tend to be duller than males and have more gray. Adult weight ranges from 27 to 34 grams. They are, on average 18 cm long from the tip of their beak to the end of their tail.

Length: 6 inches
Thin bill
Most often seen in open habitats

Adult male:

Bright blue plumage; brightest on upperparts
Lacks any brown coloration

Female:

Blue wings and tail-duller than male
Remainder of plumage gray
Eye ring

Juvenile:

Blue wings and tail-duller than male
White eye ring
Spotted underparts

Statute

Missouri Revised Statutes, Title 2, Chapter 10, Section 10.010.

TITLE II SOVEREIGNTY, JURISDICTION AND EMBLEMS
Chapter 10 State Emblems
SECTION 10.010.

Official state bird.

10.010. The native "bluebird" (Sialia Sialis) is selected for and shall be known as the official bird of the state of Missouri.

(RSMo 1939 § 15439, RSMo 1949 § 10.070, A.L. 1957 p. 726)

Prior revision: 1929 § 14314

Taxonomic Hierarchy of the Eastern Bluebird

Kingdom	Animalia -- animals
Phylum	Chordata -- chordates
Subphylum	Vertebrata -- vertebrates
Class	Aves -- birds
Order	Passeriformes -- perching birds
Family	Muscicapidae -- old world flycatchers
Genus	Sialia Swainson, 1827 -- bluebirds
Species	Sialia sialis ---- eastern bluebird

Official State Birds

Bird:

a. Any of the class Aves of warm-blooded, egg-laying, feathered vertebrates with forelimbs modified to form wings.
b. Such an animal hunted as game.
c. Such an animal, especially a chicken or turkey, used as food

State Bird:

a. Bird selected (as by the legislature) as an emblem of a state of the United States.

NOTE: Many states have more than one official bird, or have designate state birds more specifically.